Gene Simmons says Madonna not appropriate for Super Bowl halftime show

KISS bassist Gene Simmons is known as an outspoken and opinionated guy, and he lived up to that reputation the other night, after he was TMZ'ed outside of Boa in West Hollywood. Asked his opinion of the recently-announced news that Madonna would be performing at next year's Super Bowl halftime show, Simmons sarcastically responded, "I love all karaoke singers, I like all the girl singers who get up and sing with tapes... Shame on you."

Simmons does have a point. There is something sad about lip-synching. And while she may be preferable to The Black Eyed Peas, Madonna probably isn't the first name that comes to mind when making a list of ideal Super Bowl performers. (Although "The Wave" might be considered a dynamic form of voguing.) I don't know what the fifty-three-year-old prolific children's author has in store, but it would be nice if she did keep it real.

Simmons did say, "By the way, Madonna's terrific," but then offered a suggestion for the "fakers": "Hold up a sign that says seventy percent of what you hear is fake, it's a tape, I'm a karaoke singer, say it." And when asked if the Queen of Pop was a "good fit" for the Super Bowl, Simmons replied:

"I don't think it's appropriate but that doesn't matter. If you're gonna get up, do it real. Do a real band, or tell everyone it's a tape. I hate tapes."

If Simmons is annoyed by that, his annoyance will probably be compounded by the news that KISS has been snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet again, although an institution that chooses Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five over the likes of Rush and Cheap Trick can't have a ton of credibility. I just don't see Cheap Trick ever making the Rap Hall of Fame, although I hear Bun E. Carlos does an amazing human beatbox, much better than Jimmy Fallon's.